20 



ACCORD ACH2EUS. 



generally surpasses the German and French, as it 

 never weakens the effect of the principal part by 

 means of the accompaniment. The I n-nch are far 

 behind both the other nations, in re-peci to this part 

 upOMtioii, as they frequently estimate the etieri 

 by tlie quantity of notes. Tlie aoooiupaniment re- 

 quires of tlie performer the most scrupulous study, 

 and of the composer the greatest care and >1< 

 Tlie accompaniment of \arioussolo instruments, /. 

 g. the violin, flute, piano, &c. is extremely difficult, 

 and to give it full effect requires great knowledge 

 and skill. The Italian composers accordingly con- 

 sider a piano accompanied for a full orchestra, 

 especially in the recitativo, (q. v.) as a great problem, 

 which they have laboured zealously to solve. As 

 the object of every musical accompaniment is to give 

 effect to the principal part, the accompanier should 

 always aim to support, and by no means to over- 

 power and oppress it Of all composers, Mozart, 

 > ven in respect to die accompaniments, claims the 

 first place for the simplicity and beauty with which 

 he amalgamates the leading and accompanying 

 parts, through his unrivalled knowledge and excel- 

 lent management of the parts for every individual 

 instrument. 



ACCORD; in common law, an agreement, between 

 two or more persons, to give and accept satisfaction 

 for an offence or trespass committed, which becomes 

 a bar to a suit. 



ACCORSO, Francis, an Italian lawyer, who ren- 

 dered himself famous by his " Perpetual Commen- 

 tary," or " Great Gloss," in illustration of the code, 

 the institutes, and the digests. The best edition of 

 his collection is that of Lyons, 1627, 6 vols. folio. 

 He was born in Florence in 1182, and died in 1229. 

 His son, also an eminent lawyer, came to England 

 and read lectures at Oxford, but subsequently died 

 in Italy in 1321. 



ACCORSO, Mariangelo, a critic who distinguished 

 himself by the diligence with which he sought and 

 collated ancient manuscripts, of which he published 

 several. He was a native of Aquila in Naples, and 

 flourished in the 16th century. 



ACCOUCHEMENT (French) ; the delivery of a woman 

 in child-bed. 



ACCUSATION (from the Latin ad, to, and causari, to 

 plead) ; an assertion imputing to some person a crime 

 or a fault : in law, a formal declaration, charging 

 some person with an act punishable by a judicial sen- 

 tence. In Rome, where there was no calumniator 

 publicity, no attorney-general, every one was per- 

 mitted to prosecute crimes of a public nature. There- 

 fore accusations very often took place against inno- 

 cent persons, on which account it was not considered 

 at ail disreputable to be accused. Cato is said to 

 have been accused 42 times, and as often absolved. 

 Also in Prussia and Austria there exists, according 

 to the codes of these countries, no public accuser. 

 The courts accuse, try, and sentence upon informa- 

 tion received from the police, to which private indi- 

 viduals apply. This is called the process by inquisi- 

 tion, in contradistinction to process by accusation or 

 appeal. In the common law of Germany, the pro- 

 cess of appeal, W which the person injured appears 

 as the accusing party, is not general, yet not abolish- 

 ed (See Criminal process.) For accusation in Eng- 

 land and France, see Jury. At Athens, if an ac- 

 cuser had not the fifth part of the votes on his side, 

 he was obliged to pay a fine of a thousand drachmas. 

 ^Eschines, who accused Ctesiphon, was condemned 

 to pay this fine. At Rome, a false accuser was 

 branded with the letter A' on his forehead, (used for 

 C, i. e. calumniator.) The accuser was also watched 

 to prevent his corrupting the judges or the witnesses. 

 The Spanish inquisition forced the suspected person 



to accuse himself of the crime objected to him. In 

 I'nince, peer- an- to be accused of crimes only be- 

 toiv the chamber of peers, and the chamber of de- 

 puties alone ha- the right to accuse ministers, 83 

 such, before the peers. ' ' Accusing, in these cases, is 

 called impeaching. In the I'nited States, any offi- 

 cer of government, the president not excepted, is 

 impeacliahle, ami the cin^titutioii provides the ;;c- 

 CIIMT and tlie judges. In no monarchy can the king 

 be brought to trial for a crime, though, in some < 

 his conduct may be such as to amount to a virtual 

 abdication of the throne. lilack>lone say-, ' \\ hen 

 king James II. invaded the fundamental constitution 

 of the realm, the convention declared an abdication, 

 v, hereby the tlirone was rendered vacant, which in- 

 duced a new settlement of the crown. And so far 

 as this precedent leads, and no farther, we may now 

 be allowed to lay down the law of redress against 

 public oppression." 



ACELDAMA, (Heb., a field of blood) ; the field pur- 

 chased by the Jewish rulers with the 30 pieces of 

 silver which Judas returned to them in despair, after 

 betraying Christ. This field they appropriated as a 

 burial-place for strangers. The place is still shown 

 to travellers. It is small, and covered with an arc-In d 

 roof. The bodies deposited in it are, it is said, con- 

 sumed in three or four days, or even less time. 



AcEi'HALi (headless); several sects of schismatics 

 hi tlie Christian church, who rebelled against their 

 Christian head, or refused to acknowledge any ; for 

 example, the monophysite monks and priests in 

 Egypt, who did not acknowledge the patriarch, Pe- 

 ter Mongus, because he had not, at the adoption of 

 the Henoticon, in 483, expressly condemned the 

 council of Chalcedon. They were divided into three 

 parties, but were soon lost among the other mono- 

 physites. The Flagellants (q. v.) were also Acephali, 

 oecause, as a sect, they acknowledged no head. 

 Tliis term is also applied to certain nations, repre- 

 sented by ancient naturalists, as formed without 

 heads, their eyes, mouths, c. being placed hi their 

 breasts, shoulders, &c. 



ACERRA ; an altar set up by the Romans, near 

 the bed of a person deceased, on which his friends 

 daily offered incense till his burial. 



ACETIC ACID ; the acid which, hi a more diluted 

 state, is called vinegar. 



ACH^EANS are properly the inliabitants of the dis- 

 trict Achaia, in the Peloponnesus ; but this name is 

 very frequently, especially in Homer, given to all 

 the Grecians. Achaeus, a son of Xuthus and Creusa, 

 went to Thessaly with a number of followers, but 

 was soon driven out, and compelled to withdraw to 

 the Peloponnesus, where he settled in Sparta and 

 Argos, the inhabitants of which were called Achceans. 

 Of the Grecian nations engaged in the siege of Troy, 

 the Achaeans were the most numerous and powerful. 

 After the conquest of this city, being overcome by 

 the Dorians, they retired to Ionia, on the northern 

 coast of the Peloponnesus, gave to the country the 

 name of Achaia, and founded a republic, which was 

 subsequently famous for the Achaean league. This 

 league was at first formed by a few cities, for the 

 maintenance of their security and independence ; but 

 it afterwards included all the other cities of Achaia, 

 together with Athens, Megara,&c. Sparta, however, 

 did not join the confederacy. After the destruction 

 of Corinth, B. C. 146, the states composing this 

 league were made a Roman province, under the name 

 of Achaia. 



ACH.US, in ancient history, 1. A king of Lydia, 

 deposed and hanged for extortion. Ovid. 2. The 

 founder of the Achaean state in the Peloponnesus, 

 son of Xuthus king of Thessaly. 3. A tragic poet 

 of Eretria, who lived some time after Sophocles. 4. 



